Ada Lovelace day: women in science and technology

The annual Ada Lovelace day, which this year falls on 15 October, aims to
raise the profile of women working in STEM subjects across the globe.
It’s a chance for the STEM community to talk about the achievements of
the women they most admire. So we’d like to know who inspires you: who
is today’s Ada Lovelace?

To get involved and help celebrate Ada’s legacy, here’s what to do:

• Show us a photo that illustrates the work you do

• Tell us a little bit about your work and why it matters to you

• Suggest one woman you consider to be a role model for the STEM community

Whether you want to share a picture of you or a colleague at work, your favourite science or tech project, or an inspirational quote, help us honour the women that embody Ada’s pioneering spirit today.

I am Hannah Dugdale, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Sheffield investigating how social interactions influence behaviour. I study Seychelles warblers and acorn woodpeckers, because these birds will help to raise chicks that are not their own. This is puzzling: why should individuals help others to breed rather than breeding themselves? I want to know why they do this, and whether helping behaviour is influenced by the behaviour of social partners.

The photo highlights the importance of social interactions in my work place – academia. With Julia Schroeder and colleagues, we showed that women are not getting a fair share of podium time, compared to men at evolutionary biology conferences. This was not because fewer women were invited to speak, but partly because twice as many women declined invitations as men. Reduced visibility at conferences not only affects the careers of female scientists by lowering their profile, but it reduces the number of female role models for students, further contributing to their being fewer female scientists. Of course there are perfectly legitimate reasons for declining talks, but conference organizers should be aware of this potential bias and ensure diversity among podium speakers.

Ada Lovelace day is an excellent way to increase the visibility of women scientists. The instructions for this contribution ask you to “suggest one woman you consider to be a role model for the STEM community”. My suggestion is Professor Dame Athene Donald for her work on promoting diversity within the STEM community.

Jaspreet Toor. I am a PhD student at the University of Sheffield in mathematical biology. I study models of hosts and parasites to see how they evolve. The photo is from a summer research project I take part in which studies the biodiversity of frogs in a marsh area.

I am a scientist and I work on leukaemia, a group of tumours affecting blood cells. One of the most important drivers in my job is being aware that my research can help improve the life of people suffering from this terrible disease. This is the best reward for the many hours spent in the lab.

I have met many brilliant scientists during my career and among them one was a truly inspirational model for every woman: the Nobel prize-winner Rita Levi Montalcini: " Above all, don't fear difficult moments. The best comes from them."

This is “me” with colleagues Tracey Booth and Julia Galliers in our beautiful EVA Park. EVA Park is a special place that we have created for people who have communication problems (aphasia) following a stroke. It’s a place for practising speech and developing social confidence.

We are passionate about the opportunities for all afforded by accessible and usable digital technologies and this is one example of our work in the Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design at City University London.

I am Dr Sandrine Soubes and work at the University of Sheffield as researcher development manager in the Faculty of Science . I originally trained as a biologist at the National Institute of Health (Bethesda, USA). I am sharing a picture of my grandmother when she was a teenager. I learned from her that you should always push doors even when they seem closed or you are not quite sure where they lead. She was the only girl in her town with her best friend to want to study for a Math baccalaureate (equivalent to A level). This was in Le Havre (France), just before the 2nd World War. So she went with her friend to Paris to do Math and then study Philosophy at the Sorbone. Because of the war she never finished her degree and then went on to have children and help her husband in his veterinary practice. However, she was a true inspiration to me. My best memory of my time with her is when I did my homework with her. I spent many short holidays and weekends at her house preparing exams. She understood the power of learning and she created a wonderful environment to facilitate my studies. She helped me believe that "I could", she gave my values of "hard work'...

With the work I am now doing in supporting researchers make the most of their research career, I am trying to trying to create communities of researchers who support and enthuse each other.

My name is Virpi Lummaa, and this is me introducing my son to one of my Burmese study elephants. I am a biologist from the University of Sheffield, and my research focuses on understanding the similarities and differences in how we human women and elephant grandmothers grow old. I work with family genealogies of women from my home country Finland as well as century-long records of elephants working in the timber industry in Myanmar. I cannot imagine anything more fascinating than spending my days (and nights!) investigating how and why we grow old, why we as one of the only species have mid-life menopause, and why some individuals age faster than others. Or perhaps I can: trying to explain all that to my two little sons - the best questions always come from people under 10 years old! As a single mum, my kids travel with me even to study elephant poop in Myanmar and what is best, they think that kind of job is a perfectly normal thing to do. Not surprisingly then, my role model and childhood hero is Jane Goodall.

Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) employs inmate technicians to raise endangered butterflies at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women. The technicians' meticulous work is supported by scientists from WA Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Zoo, and graduate students and staff at The Evergreen State College. The program has been a great success; this past spring, SPP released 3000 checkerspots into the wild, and is ready to send out another 2800 in spring 2014.

This is me showing off some bacteria at a recent science festival in Scotland called Bang Goes the Borders. For some reason, everyone thought bacteria isolated from in between toes was a bit icky! Nothing is better than sharing my love of microbes with my students during classes and also the students of the future (pictured here)! Taking part in science festivals such as BGTB is just one of the ways I try to show that science is for everyone, is relevant to every day life, and importantly, that it can be a lot of fun!

My name is Heather Stretton and I am a Development Engineer for radio communications specialist Simoco. I work in all aspects of software development, from requirements and design, through to coding, testing and customer support. I have always enjoyed maths and science and problem-solving, which is why I enjoy Engineering. My interest began with my school physics teacher, who encouraged me to take ‘O’-level electronics and helped me get my project off the ground. This interest was then strengthened after a Women Into Science & Engineering visit to Bradford University, where we had talks from people working in many difference aspects of engineering, as well as hands-on projects.

This collection draws its inspiration from the stylistic computer systems from the 1960’s. There sleek futuristic aesthetic, which captivated the imagination of its time and the inspirational women who have played a key role behind creating our essential part of communication have inspired this collection.

Rebecca Torres is renowned for her individual bold and bright, graphic sports driven pieces. Her ability to accentuate and empower the female form was a key element that she brought to this collection.

Rebecca’s vision was to captivate a time of exciting new possibilities, the future of the unknown and where anything is possible.

Drawing inspiration from her signature style, whilst capturing the vision of this time.

I work for the Moors for the Future Partnership, which is a conservation organisation working on the upland peat bogs of the Peak District and South Pennines. Being so close to Manchester and Sheffield, the legacy of 200 years of industrial pollution has taken its toll on these hills. My role is to monitor and assess the impacts of the conservation works on the blanket bog – an internationally important habitat. My job is incredibly varied: measuring and analysing all sorts of environmental factors – from vegetation and peat depth, to water quality and flow. I love learning about natural patterns and processes through collecting and analysing data, and just finding out what's going on, beyond that which we can see. Since working here I’ve learned just how important our upland peatlands are because of the ecosystem services they provide – a vast carbon store, a source of drinking water, regulation of water flow, as well as a beautiful place to enjoy the outdoors, away from the city noise. When I graduated from university, I wanted a job that would give me variety, and keep me learning every day – I definitely have that working on peat bogs!

I started my current career in the school of Electronic and Electrical Engineering as a lecturer in September 2004 and had my first child in April 2005, second in 2007. I then started juggling between a fulltime job with a family life. My job involves teaching, administration, and research. I have set up my teaching profile and successfully completed the PGCLTHE certificate (learning and teaching for higher education). I am currently involved in teaching three modules and serve as module leader of one big module. My research is focused on developing novel communication and signal processing techniques for the next generation communication systems, with the general aim to improve the efficiency and the robustness of the system, enabling better quality of service and higher data rate required by the increasing demand of multimedia transmission. In 2007, I got my first EPSRC grant and started building up an independent research group. Since then, with the support of nine different research grants, three research associates, three visiting professors, and eleven PhD students have worked in my research team. Throughout my career, my greatest pleasure has been working with my PhD students, post-docs and colleagues, generating new research outcomes and exciting new ideas. I have been selected as a member of the prestigious EPSRC peer review college since 2006 and acted as EPSRC panel member as well as external PhD examiners for six good universities. I am reviewer of major journals and TPC member of important IEEE conferences. In 2011, I was promoted as a senior lecturer and was awarded as exemplary reviewer by IEEE communications letter. In 2012, I was promoted as senior IEEE member. At the moment, I also take management role in the school as the Postgraduate Taught Tutor and Direct Entry Student Tutor.

My role model is Marie Curie, a great female scientist. Inspired by her, I have enthusiasm to carry out novel research. I enjoy my job and am pleased that I could make valuable contribution to science and technology. At the same time, with the support of my husband, I have worked out a way to combine my career with the joy of motherhood and family life. I have spent lots of enjoyable time with my two children who are now 6 and 8. My life is always busy and challenging, but also rewarding.

I'm Dr Stephanie Steels. I work as an independent consultant for the World Health Organization in Japan. I’m interested in all aspects of the urban environment and urban living because cities themselves are complex creations, which affect people in different ways, not just our individual health and wellbeing.

Most people I talk to here in Japan (both foreign and Japanese) think I’m a housewife, English teacher or secretary. When people read my written name, Dr S. Steels, they often think I’m a guy. I can't tell you how many times the postoffice has telephoned me to say they have a package for my 'husband'. You don’t find many female academics here.

I hope I’m making a good impression and showing that public health researchers can be fun, as well as female (the photo is of my desk companions – I’m a big Studio Ghibli fan).

I explore the deep oceans from research ships, carrying out expeditions to the freezing seas offshore Antarctica, to the very deepest vents in the Cayman Trough and along the spreading volcanic ridges that run right round the deep ocean floor. My specialism is chemistry and I work in multidisciplinary teams to understand how metals are transported out of the seafloor into the oceans. To do this we need to sample the deep hostile environment using a variety of underwater vehicles and platforms and then make measurements on these precious samples in our laboratories in Southampton.

My suggestion of a role model for the STEM community is Professor Jane Francis, recently appointed Director of the British Antarctic Survey, alumnae of Southampton and an expert in Antarctic climate.

I work in developing and validating new health technologies, particularly in relation to novel methods of motion capture and the acquisition of skilled hand dexterity. I'm a woman with a diverse background in STEM disciplines and I'm based in Health Sciences, where I see my work applied directly to the field and others. Very little of what I do is theoretical and I love this challenge. Getting things to work is hard enough. Getting things to work reliably with human users is even harder.

Being part of the University of Southampton, it is easy to identify inspirational STEM women, not least Professor Dame Wendy Hall. Having successful, strong role models who have a global reputation right on your doorstep is incredibly helpful and fortunate. Unfortunately I think this is the exception rather than the rule.

This is me. I'm a physics PhD student at Glasgow University. Here I'm competing at the UK's first Science Slam, which was in Glasgow in June 2013. I spoke about detecting gravitational waves and the work I do at Glasgow University's Institute for Gravitational Research. I was lucky enough to take second place at this competition and went on to win a Science Slam in London in October. I'm a keen science communicator and I feel that, if you're a scientist, it's important to share your knowledge and experience in science in any way that you can.

My work as a PhD student involves research into materials for gravitational wave detectors. Gravitational waves are elusive little ripples in the fabric of space, which are caused by violent events like supernova explosions. By creating ever more sensitive detectors, the group I work with hope to one day detect these ripples directly. This may teach us a great deal about supernova explosions and black holes.

I'm greatly inspired by the work of Maria Goeppert-Mayer. She won the Nobel Prize for physics with Johannes Jensen in 1963 for their work in nuclear physics and on the nuclear shell structure. However, in spite of being the only other woman to have won the prize apart from Marie Curie, and in spite of having worked on the Manhattan Project, most people don't even know her name. Ada Lovelace Day is a great opportunity to remind people of the great work done by many female scientists who, unfortunately, seem to get forgotten too easily.

Olivia Firek was Head of Biology at Haileybury for two years and is now also House Mistress of Melvill, one of our boarding houses. Olivia continues to teach Biology to A level and IB pupils. Olivia’s passion is inspiring young people to appreciate the importance of science and the wonders of the natural world. Many have gone on to practice the skills she has taught them, whether as a doctor or a vet.

Olivia has been greatly influenced by Rosalind Franklin, a great and sometimes unsung scientist, whose work contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA.

Olivia says, “I would like to see more women go into the field of science and believe in encouraging children of all backgrounds and abilities to contribute to the world of science.”